Indeed, it is turning into a bit of a 'Rock N Roll Winter' this year. Shortly after the aural assault that was HRH last month in Wales, on 4th December was now time for a rare visit of shock-rocker Marilyn Manson to Manchester. Even better as it was a 'free' ticket - joining a friend as her better half couldn't make it due to work commitments.

So, dolled-up in skimpy top, leather jacket, fishnets, spray-on shorts and my Alexander McQueen studded fetish shoes, I made my way to one of the less-salubrious areas of Manchester where the O2 Apollo sat awaiting the congregation who had gathered to hear the words of the original AntiChrist Superstar.

Thankfully, the icy rain and northern winds mentioned in Wizzard's song remained at bay - especially as a queue of over a thousand people was snaked around the venue by the time I arrived. That meant a bit of a wait - even after the doors had opened.

Soon, though, we had found our seats (up in the 'circle'), in plenty of time to snap a couple of photos before the support act, Amazonica.

Finally, the lights dimmed and Amazonica arrived onstage. A sexy and feisty blonde DJ, she played a non-stop whirl of industrial and vintage rock, all superbly mixed and delivering a stupendously rousing start to the night. Led Zeppelin's 'Whole Lotta Love' fused with Nirvana's 'Smells Like Teen Spirit', under-laid by a powerhouse of thundering techno industrial noise straight out of a metalwork factory. Superb.

Dexi Delite Altrincham and Manchester Escort - Amazonica.

It all seemed to be over far too quickly, and a very long wait before Marilyn Manson finally appeared. It is now over twenty years since the band's first album, 'Portrait Of An American Family' and two decades since 'Antichrist Superstar' turned an unforgiving mirror to America's tarnished facade and caused outrage and horror in the USA, especially the Bible-belt of the southern states. Manson's problem is that in the intervening years the world has become even more grotesque and crazy than it was in the late 1990s - with an American President a worse caricature than any that Manson could have imagined in his darkest nightmares, how could the singer still rage against the world with the same shocking venom, when the world itself is more insane and screwed up than ever?

Eventually the curtains parted and Manson and his band hit the stage at full speed - ripping through 'Revelation #12', even though the singer was still confined to a motorised wheelchair after breaking a leg when part of the stage section crashed down during the US stint of their tour.

Dexi Delite Altrincham and Manchester Escort - Marilyn Manson.

That incident, in New York back in October, was an irony probably not lost on Manson himself as the stage set featured two guns, a Manson obsession about America's own fatalistic gun obsession.

Dexi Delite Altrincham and Manchester Escort - Marilyn Manson.

Second song up, 'This Is The New Shit' had the sell-out crowd roaring its approval, Manson then delivering selections from an extensive back catalogue, but the flow was interrupted in between songs so that 'medics' could help Manson onto his feet and, towards the end of the show, onto a hospital bed - which he raged against like the only sane person in a mental asylum staffed by sociopaths, possibly a metaphor for how Manson sees himself and the world. Indeed, in a world where America can deliver endless TV channels for right-wing evangelistic preachers, a Christian far-right that denounces homosexuality, consensual sexual relations and pornography, and yet has more guns per head than anywhere else in the world (and more gun-related murders) it is not hard to see why Manson has chosen to stand as an opponent and confront the madness head on.

Dexi Delite Altrincham and Manchester Escort - Marilyn Manson.

Unfortunately, it seemed the spell between the songs was getting longer and longer, and despite Manson statement that he was "a bit broken but you can't break me", it did appear that the singer was tiring towards the end. Nevertheless, a rousing 'The Beautiful People', all the way from his 1996 Antichrist Superstar album closed the show in a raging and emotional finale.

Dexi Delite Altrincham and Manchester Escort - Marilyn Manson.

Under the circumstances then, a great show, but if they ever return to Manchester I'll make a point of going again in the hope of seeing an unbridled Manson raging at the world as only he can.

The following day I had a little more Christmas joy. Back in October, whilst I was in London for the London Fetish Weekend, I made the trip over to Natacha Marro on Brick Lane to have my pair of black leather fetish boots repaired. I also put in an order for a new pair, with a 1950's fetish-style. Both pairs of boots finally arrived on Tuesday - my old black pair lovingly restored to their fuckable fetish glory, and my new pair of shiny patent fetish boots.

Dexi Delite Altrincham and Manchester Escort - Natacha Marro boots!

Dexi Delite Altrincham and Manchester Escort - Natacha Marro boots!

Dexi Delite Altrincham and Manchester Escort - Natacha Marro boots!

The new skin-tight boots were designed with an aim to be able to wear them for very long periods, either during the day or at fetish clubs, hence the vintage-styled heels and platforms. Hopefully I'll be able to get them out during the day soon and have some proper snaps taken.